Oneshots | Fruits Basket | 1192131999

Thirteen Strings | The Rabbit: Momiji Sohma

The school excursion to the sister school Kaibara Municipal wasn't exactly a walk in the park, or even a tour. It was the teachers way of keeping relations with one of the more dynamic institutions in the prefecture, which required taking a bus of students from the final year to mingle and create connections with their students. It was a long time coming, knowing that your grade would eventually be the unfortunate souls to participate in the annual event.

Eventually you arrived at the gates of Kaibara Municipal, watching their students go about their day. You were expecting the following: travel in packs of two, be given the obligatory introduction speech, tour through the more impressive parts of the school and be introduced to the more impressive students and classes. Everything was at face value, and you despised it.

While the day continued to roll by, you were allowed to free roam after formalities, tours and introductions have been met. You decided to trek on your own, wandering through the halls until you came across a strange student, his blond hair the first sight that caught your eye. You also realised he was a grade below you despite his height. He stood before his classroom door while chatting away with his classmates. He was charismatic around his group of friends, cheery and full of energy. It was a breath of fresh air to see and you couldn't take your eyes away from his smile.

"Hello!" He chirped with a smile, catching you off guard.

"Oh, uh, hi!" You greeted back in slight panic, wondering if you stared at him for too long. His classmates entered the classroom yet he still stayed, his eye on you.

"Are you lost?" He asked.

"No, just wandering around."

"I guess it's your free time, huh?"

That question caught you off guard again, only to meet his cheerful smile matched only by his light-hearted chuckle.

"You guys are always so surprised to hear that we know why you're here," he explained. "You're from the sister school, right?"

You stared blankly at his observation, realizing that you were wearing your school's outfit for him to know. You nervously chuckled under your breath, agreeing to his remark before he approached you with a bow.

"Nice to meet a fellow student. My name's Momiji Sohma," he introduced.

"Nice to meet you Momiji," you openly greeted only to spot a confused look on his face. "Um... is something wrong?"

"You go by first name basis?" He questioned, still staring at you blankly in confusion. The thought of such informality crossed your mind, feeling the panic well up in your ribcage.

"No, wait, I mean, I didn't mean it in any way," you tried to explain, floundering around. "I just prefer to speak on a first name basis. I didn't mean any disrespect. I'm sorry—"

Chuckles "Actually I kind of like it," interrupted Momiji with a smile.

You stared back at the blond finding that smile on his face. He was unfazed by the situation and took things in stride. You began to wonder if he was from another planet to let that slide so easily. However, it was strange for him to have this kind of power over you with his charms and almost boy-like mannerisms.

"Would you like a quick tour while you still have free time?" He offered, bringing you back down to earth.

"Huh? I shouldn't take you from your classes," you protested.

"I'm free right now. This is just a club," he reassured with a chuckle.

The rest of the afternoon was spent with Momiji while he introduced you to, funnily enough, more of his family members in passing who spent club hours on campus, which consisted of Yuki Sohma, Hatsuharu Sohma, and Kyou Sohma. You found that he just milled around until the end of club to walk home with his family every day. It was endearing to listen to, checking the time every so often to ensure you had enough time to regroup with your school, until—

"There he is!" Cried a student from behind, catching both of your attention.

"We need you in the band room now!" Yelled the other.

Suddenly, you felt your hand grabbed tightly by Momiji while he ran through the halls with you in tow, now being chased by two other students. You felt your feet almost fly across the floor. It felt incredibly fast to be dragged by Momiji wondering where this inhuman speed came from. All he did was laugh cheerfully before rounding a few corners out of sight from his pursuers.

Eventually the two ran past while Momiji and yourself hid behind a flight of stairs, watching their bodies disappear from the hall. Momiji chuckled to himself, slightly out of breath but with a relief on his face.

"Mind telling me what that was about?" You asked with a pant.

"Band practice," he simply replied. "But I didn't feel like it today."

"Didn't you leave your club with no issue?"

"Oh, that wasn't my club, that was Hatsuharu's."

You stared at him perplexed, only to recall—

"But we just met him in the halls not too long ago," you mentioned.

"Yeah, he's not at his either," admitted Momiji, your expression leaving you slack jawed. "But this is fun. You're cool and cute, Bunny."

"Bunny?"

"Hey, I thought I heard something over here," called a voice in the distance, catching your heart in surprise and bumping into Momiji. Your arms stretched out towards him, grabbing hold of his uniform before a plume of smoke clouded your vision.

The sound of footsteps came and went. A false alarm perhaps, yet your eyes stared at the sight before you. Frozen on the spot, you hovered over an extremely adorable looking rabbit, it's ears twitching while you began to dart your eyes at the school uniform that cluttered around it - the uniform Momiji was wearing not too long ago.

You stuttered, your voice weak and your arms trembling, comprehending what just happened.

"Bunny, are you okay?" Spoke a voice,
gazing back at the bunny that stood on its feet, sniffing close to your nose.

It talked.

You stared with eyes ensnared by the sight and what you just heard.

"Bunny?"

Your arms only gave in, blacking out.